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Flint Granite Company. Albany. N. Y. 

SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, 

maple grove cemetery. 

Randolph New York. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS 



AT THE 



DEDICATION 



OF THE 



SOLDIERS' MONUMENT 



MAPLE GROVE CEMETERY 



RANDOLPH, NEW YORK. 



M-^v30,140(= 



^ 



IFritten by HON. JAMES T. EDfVARDS, LL. D. 
Read by Mrs. J. T. Edwards. 






Randolph, N. T., Aug. 2§th, igos- 
Br. James T. Edwards, 

Dear Sir: 

The undersigned Soldiers' Monument Committee, earnestly request 
that you will prepare an address to be delivered on the occasion of the dedication of the 
Soldiers' Monument to be ereEled on the grounds of the Randolph Cemetery Association, on 
or before Sept. 30th, 1905. 

If you accede to this request, it is quite probable that such address with other 
appropriate matter may be printed in pamphlet form. 

Yours respectfully, 

Rodney R. Crowley, Chairman, 
Horace C. Rich, 
Emma A. Edwards, 
Gilbert F. Gould, 
Mary D. Johnson, 

Committee. 
Warren Dow, Committee on behalf of Cemetery Association. 



Randolph, N. T., Aug. 26th, igos. 
Hon. Rodney R. Crowley, 

Chairman Monument Committee, 
Dear Sir: 

It gives me pleasure to accept the courteous invitation of your 
Committee to prepare an address for the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument. 

Respectfully yours, 

James T. Edwards. 
Gift 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



<e<r<f<r 



INTRODUCTION. 

PATRIOTIC SERVICE deserves our lasting gratitude. Sacrifice gives grace to 
the simplest act and dignity to the humblest character. History, poetry and 
monuments record and perpetuate civic virtues and noble achievements. Es- 
pecially is this true when men have toiled and shed their blood in the inter- 
est of their native land. 

Thucydides, writing of those who fell at Marathon, declared that the whole 
world is a mausoleum of those who die for the preservation of the liberties 
of their country. 

"Though foul are the drops that oft distil 
On the field of warfare, blood like this 
For Liberty shed, so holy is, 
It would not stain the purest rill 
That sparkles among the bowers of bliss. 
Oh, if there be, on this earthly sphere, 
A boon, an offering Heaven holds dear, 
'Tis the last libation Liberty draws 
From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her cause." 

Such devotion as this awakens a response in all hearts and in all lands. In his recent 
visit to Boston, the first place of public interest which attracted the attention of Monsieur 
Witte, the distinguished Russian plenipotentiary, was the monument that stands on 
Bunker Hill. 

All travelers who pass through Washington desire to visit the hallowed slopes of Arling- 
ton. Gettysburg, Antietam, Chattanooga, and other national cemeteries are looked upon with 
increasing interest, while in the marts of trade and in many a quiet village, monuments con- 
tinue to be erected in honor of the heroes of the Civil War, although it is now forty years 
since its close. A generation has grown up since that struggle, but to the veterans gathered 
here, it seems as yesterday. 

THE UPRISING. 

On Friday morning, April 12, 1861, at half past four o'clock, a shell from a battery on 
James Island sped through the darkness and burst over Fort Sumter. 

"The roar of that shell was heard around the world." A fierce bombardment from the 
fortifications about Charleston harbor followed, which continued until the next day, when 
Major Anderson and his brave command evacuated the demolished fort. He did not surren- 
der. He carried with him the tattered flag which they had so gallantly defended, and which, 
four years later, as Major General, he again raised to the free winds over the ruins of Sumter. 



The startling news of tl^ ^njM i i Bf reached the Capital of this State on Sunday morning, 
the 14th of April. It came upon the people as an event too astounding for belief. What 



action followed in this State is well described by Gen. Frederick Phisterer in his histor>' of 
the war. The Governor, Edwin D. Morgan, at once called a meeting in the executive cham- 
ber Sunday afternoon. There were present prominent state officers and certain members of 
the Legislature, which was still in session. 

A committe consisting of the Attorney General, the Adjutant General, the Inspector 
General, Mr. Blood of the Senate and Mr. Robinson of the Assembly was appointed to draft a 
bill to be submitted to the Legislature on the following morning. As drawn by the commit- 
tee, the bill provided for the enrollment of 30,000 volunteers to serve for two years, and 
appropriated three million dollars to meet the expense. 

This bill may be found in Chapter 277, Laws of 1861, and is entitled, "An Act to auth- 
orize the embodying and equipment of a volunteer militia and to provide for public defense." 
The bill was passed April 15th, 1861, by a two-thirds vote, at the evening session. 

This was the response to that bomb which the State of New York returned within forty- 
eight hours of the fall of Sumter. Our able^^ valiant " War Governor " was the man for the 
hour. He organized and sent to the front 4§a,ooo soldiers. In 1864 Hon. Reuben E. Fenton 
was elected Governor and he loyally supplemented the work which had been so splendidly 
carried forward by bis pr e d ecesso r. But the ordinary citizen was stirred not less than the 
statesman. The youth of the country were especially aroused ; and men of gray hair also 
crowded the enrolling stations. 

Who that participated in those stirring scenes can ever forget those thrilling moments ? 
A young man at school rushed into the room where we were teaching, and, utterly oblivious 
of everything else, shouted in the wildest excitement : " They've fired on Sumter ! " This 
lad afterwards, with thousands of others, fought and bled on many a battlefield to save 
the Union. 

Even the children were thrilled by the spirit of the hour, and drilled warlike companies 
armed with corn-stalk gims. In the Parole Camp near Alexandria was a little drummer boy 
fourteen years of age, who had spent six months in Libby Prison. He was eager to return to 
his regiment so that he might cheer on " the boys " with the rat-tat-tat of his drum. From the 
quiet halls of academy and college, hundreds of youths marched forth ready to lay down their 
lives to save their country. 

Many of our schools cherish their names with pride and honor. Lowell, in his commemo- 
ration ode at Harvard, paid eloquent tribute to the gallant sous of the Union : 

" Weak- winged Is song, 

Nor aims at that clear-ethered height 
Whither the brave deed climbs for light ; 

We seem to do them wrong, 
Bringing our robin's-leaf to deck their hearse, 
Who in warm life-blood wrote their nobler verse ; 
Our trivial song to honor those who come 
With ears attuned to strenuous trump and drum. 
They shaped in squadron strophes their desire. 
Live battle-odes whose lines were steel and fire." 

Ellsworth, Winthrop, Stearns, and other brilliant young men, were among the first to 
fall. Every community felt the thrill of the great crisis. Many households gave all their 
sons. Not far from here were seven brothers, all of whom enlisted in the Union Army. 

As in the days of the Revolution, ploughs were left in the furrow, and hammers on the 



bench. Great war meetings were suninioned, and to allow employees an opportunity to attend 
them, factories were closed, stores were shut and the hum of industry was for the hour silent. 
One lofty purpose animated and ab.sorbed all loyal hearts. Women were equally brave and 
patriotic as their sons, brothers and husbands. 

As President Lincoln issued his successive calls for troops, he rejoiced to hear the ringing 
response : — 

•' We're coming, Father Abraham, 
Three hundred thousand more ! " 

At the war meetings the speakers were often those unaccustomed to public oratory, but 
they were not the less eloquent. One would say, " I can go, because I have no one dependent 
upon me." Another would say, " I shall go because I want to make it possible for my sons 
and daughters to answer, ' Yes ! ' when they .shall be a.sked if their father did anything to help 
save the Union." The marvelous uprising of our people astonished the world. 

CITIZEN SOLDIERS. 

We, at this time doubtless underestimated the strength and endurance of the South 
and the southerners terribly misunderstood the spirit and purpose of the North. They 
thought the northeners were mercenar>-, and so devoted to habits of industry and love of gain 
that they were not adapted to become soldiers, and were incapable of the sacrifices necessary 
to secure the perpetuity of the Union. They little dreamed how soon the cool and peaceful 
North would be transformed into a great military camp, and in the fervid heat of patriotism 
all the diverse interests of the community would be welded into one ; that partizanship would 
be weakened and the salvation of the country become of more importance than the further- 
ance of political ends. Democratic and Republican Governors vied with each other in for- 
warding troops to the front. Stephen A. Douglass, but a short time before Mr. Lincoln's 
opponent for Presidential honors, now became his most ardent supporter, and on his deathbed 
entreated his sons to "stand loyally by the Union." 

If the South was surorised at the readiness with which northern men surrendered their 
business pursuits and adopted the warlike habits of the soldier, the nations of the old world 
were still more astonished. They had long felt and taught that a great standing army was 
essential to the maintenance of government, that long training and discipline were necessary 
to make the soldier. But, behold ! as in the fable of the dragon's teeth, armed men sprang 
up everywhere, and ere long hundreds of thousands had become as good soldiers as ever faced 
a foe, and were heroically enduring all the privations and dangers of the mighty conflict. 
Their prophecy failed wherein they had often said that the American Union w-ould fall to 
pieces when a terrific strain should be brought to bear upon its several parts ; that citizens 
would be found too indiflferent, selfish or ignoble to make the requisite sacrifices to save their 
imperilled country. 

But when the clouds had rolled away, lo ! a purer, nobler, more enduring Union stood 
before them, claiming the admiration of the world. 

THE UNION SAVED. 

The controversy which culminated in this Civil war was of long standing. The Consti- 
tution, which had been called the highest product of human wisdom, was a compromise. For 
the sake of peace it pennitted slavery, although the word slave is not found in its articles. 
Our Fathers, including Washington and Jefferson, saw the inconsistency of slavery with the 



doctrine which they had promulgated, that "all men are born free and equal," but they hoped 
and believed that it would gradually become extinct in the South as it had already done in 
the North. They therefore permitted it as a temporary expedient, for they were sorely per- 
plexed and anxious to secure harmony of action. Alas ! they planted a seed which bore bit- 
ter har\'est in the years to come. Discussion, also, soon arose as to the nature of the go\-ern- 
ment established by the Constitution. The South contended that the Union was a compact 
of Sovereign States, and could be dissolved at the option of any one of them. The North 
held that the Union was indissoluble ; a nation, with a strong, centralized power, sufhcient to 
protect itself from the assaults of domestic or foreign foes. This is the plain meaning of the 
preamble to the Constitution, which reads, " We, the People of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the com- 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

" We the People" not the States ; " to form a more perfect union " than under the Arti- 
cles of Confederation, and, finally, the State cannot have " posterity." It is plain that our 
fathers meant that this should be a government of the people, by the people. This is the 
doctrine of nationalism of which Daniel Webster became the greatest exponent. He was the 
teacher of thousands who, afterwards, risked their lives in defense of the principles which he 
advocated. The war for the Union was first fought in the Senate Chamber. 

On Januar)^ 6th, 1830, Mr. Webster made his memorable reply to Hayne of South Caro- 
lina, which has done more to shape the thought and opinion of generations of school boys 
than any other speech that was ever delivered. He foresaw the coming conflict even then, 
and with prophetic eloquence forecast the calamities which impended, saying in words which 
are immortal : — 

" When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in the heavens, may 
I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union ; on 
States dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may 
be, with fraternal blood ! " 

A notable banquet was given in Washington on the 13th day of April, 1830, in honor of 
the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. Sectional feeling, even then, was at high tension. It was 
thought that the President, Andrew Jackson, might on that occasion reveal his purposes in 
regard to the doctrine of imllification. The champion of that cause rose and offered the toast, 
" Liberty first, and Union afterwards ! " All eyes were fastened upon the President, when, 
somewhat later in the course of the banquet, he rose, and amid breathless silence, offered the 
toast, " Our Federal Union. It must be preserved ! " This was like a trumpet call, accepting 
the challenge. None thereafter doubted where the hero of New Orleans stood in the contest 
to break up the Union. The language of that toast became a watchword. " The Union 
must be preserved ! " was the thought that animated the hearts of our soldiers through the 
four years of the Civil War. This was the inspiring purpose that impelled the great majority 
of our men to enter the army. Other motives may have inspired some, and even mercenary 
objects have sometimes influenced others, but upon the whole, the vast majority entered the 
service inspired by a lofty and patriotic desire to serve and save their country. 

SLAVERY ABOLISHED. 

This glorious object was accomplished, and incidentally — perhaps we should say provi- 
dentially — slavery perished. It was, however, a long time before public opinion became ready 



to endorse the Act of Emancipation. Years before, Abraham Lincoln had said, " This coun- 
try cannot continue to exist, part slave and part free ; it must become either all slave terri- 
tory or all free." 

William H. Seward, in his great Rochester speech, had said, " There is an irrepressible 
conflict between free and slave labor," and Helijcr of North Carolina, in his " Impending 
Crisis," had shown that they could not exist together. Radicals at the North were eager to 
strike the shackles from the slave. Flaming orators cried, " It is the hour of fate ! vStrike 
the blow ! " They hated delays and could not understand the patient wisdom of the Presi- 
dent. In l^Iarch, 1862, Wendell Phillips returned to Boston from a lecturing tour through 
the States, in .some of which he had been insulted and scarcely escaped physical violence. 
He spoke in Music Hall, in his own city, to a vast audience which was in close sympathy 
with him. One of his radical statements was followed by a burst of applause. He folded his 
arms and after a moment's silence proudly said : " I expected to be hi.ssed for that, and I shall 
be a dozen times yet ! " He then proceeded to arraign the Government for not immediately 
proceeding to emancipate, then suddenly paused and said, " But I must remember my visit 
last week to that plain, great, honest man in the White House. After a long conversation 
with him in regard to the war, he went with me to the door and, taking one of my hands be- 
tween both of his great strong ones, looking me squarely in the face, with deep feeling .said : 
' Mr. Phillips, you go around the country a great deal talking to the people. You criticise us 
for not doing at once some things that you think ought to be done. That is all right. This 
is a land of free speech and discussion, but while )ou are doing so, don't forget that putting 
down this rebellion is a vast, big job.' I shall not fail to remember the heavy cares and 
responsibilities of that noble patriot who is at the head of our Government." From that mo- 
ment Mr. Phillips' speech took on a milder tone. 

The Emancipation Proclamation followed January ist, 1863. It is a singular fact that 
this date marked a change in the fortunes of our annies which has attracted the attention of 
historians. It was an act of justice that seemed to meet the special approval of an over-ruling 
Providence. 

A GREATER SOUTH. 

No greater calamity could have happened to the Southern States than to have been vic- 
torious. The doctrine of the right of secession, followed to its legitimate results, would have 
led to endless divisions until the whole land would have been broken into warring common- 
wealths. Their defeat resulted in untold sorrows and disaster, and the destruction of their 
substance, but it destroyed their system of domestic slavery, which the best men of the South 
never approved, and over whose destruction a great majority of the Southern people rejoice. 
Under the most favorable conditions attendant upon slavery, there were terrible and unavoid- 
able evils, which the kindest master was powerless to prevent. Rear Admiral Robley D. 
Evans, born and bred in Virginia, gives of this, in his book entitled " A Sailor's Log," an 
effective illustration. 

One of the slaves on his father's plantation cut off the fingers of his left hand to prevent 
his being sold away from his family. In the language of Admiral Evans, " When confronted 
with the evidence he at once admitted his guilt and pleaded as excuse, that he believed my 
father meant to send him away from his family ; that he had been so informed, and he knew 
no one would buy him if he had only one hand." 

The " New South " has more than regained its lost wealth, and is more prosperous than 
ever before. Factories have .spnmg up, agricultural industries developed, railroads have been 



built, more numerous and better schools established, and best of all, the Union now rests on 
the firm basis of mutual respect and confidence of the people in all sections of our peaceful 
country. 

We have met today to honor those who have accomplished these happy results. We 
cannot too often dwell on the virtues of the brave men who saved the nation in the hour 
of its direst peril, and made possible the amazing progress and prosperity of our country today. 
If they had failed, our national life would have been extinguished. We can, at this late day, 
contemplate the actions of those who fought against us, " with malice toward none, with 
charity for all." The " lost cause " was a bad cause, but they believed it just. 

The rank and file of the Confederate army thought that they were fighting for home and 
liberty. Such commanders as Lee, Jackson, Gordon, Longstreet, Wheeler and others, were 
not only chivalrous soldiers, but hastened, at the close of the war, to encourage their followers 
to accept the situation and peacefully return to their duties as good citizens under the old flag. 

To-day we rejoice that the men of the North nobly responded to the call of duty. They 
loved their homes and life was as sweet to them as to us, but they risked all for sake of 
dear native land. 

The appeal was made to the manhood of each individual citizen, and that appeal is 
always the most effective. The commanders in the two greatest naval battles of modern 
times felt this. Nelson at Trafalgar summoned every Englishman to do his duty, and Ad- 
miral Togo in the Sea of Japan gave to the breeze this heroic message : " The fate of our 
Empire depends upon this action. Ever>' man is expected to do his utmost." Our soldiers 
in the field did not stand alone, but were ever sustained by a great, lo}al people at home. 
Our wise rulers were careful to see that the connection between the soldiers and their families 
was close and continuous. No army ever before received so many letters. Our brave, suffer- 
ing friend. Col. David B. Parker, was special agent of the Post Office Department to follow 
the movements of the army and forward mail promptly. To him were intrusted the secret 
plans of the army, so that as often as was possible, the soldiers, on arriving at a new station, 
would find their mail awaiting them. This close sympathy between the home and the field 
is expressed in the little poem by a soldier at Newbern, who shortly afterwards died at 
his post : — 

" On guard to-night I 'Tis a lonely place, 
And for two long hours I must wearily pace 
To and fro nnid the tall old pines, 
Fringed with moss and clinging with vines. 

Scarce smiles a star through the clouds aloft, 
And the ocean breeze is damp and soft 
That fans my fevered cheek and brow. 
While i think of home and the loved ones now. 

On guard to-night ! 'Tls a lonely beat. 
And with heavy heart and weary feet 
Amid the gloom and dark I tread, 
For I'm watching o'er the unburied dead. 

Ah ! yester morn how lightly throbbed 
Full many a heart that death hath robbed 
Of its pulses warm, and the caskets lie 
As cold as the winter's starless sky. 



How sad the thought that another day 
Will bring again the battle-fray ; 
And ere the close of the morrow's light 
I, too, may sleep like these to-night. 

Past midnight hour, and 1 long to hear 
The step to the soldier's heart most dear, 
A sound that banishes all his grief. 
The welcome tread of the next relief. 

Ah ! here they come, and now I may keep 
My next four hours in the Land of Sleep, 
And dream of home and the loved ones there, 
Who never may know a soldier's care." 

COURAGE. 

Courage is the birthright of the American soldier. Side by side with him, however, 
fought equally brave men of foreign birth. Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, Germans, 
Frenchmen, Scandinavians, vied with each other in sustaining the in.stitutions of the free land 
to which they had come. A'olumes would not contain the record of all the splendid achieve. 
nients of our defenders, many of whom were of humble rank. 

This constitutes the unwritten history found ouly in the recitals of veterans gathered 
about the camp-fires. These deeds are often as heroic as those which glow on the pages of 
our national chronicles. What school boy has not thrilled at the reply of young Nathan Hale 
upon the scafJold as he unfalteringly gave up his life : " I only regret that I have but one life 
to lose for my country ! " but there lives, not far from here, a soldier, who in danger as great, 
made a reply as fitting. 

He was one of a squad of foragers in Sherman's army. They had a sharp fight with a 
platoon of Confederate cavalry. Several fell, and a Lieutenant in command of the Confede- 
rates was shot through the arm. The Union men were overcome and captured. As they 
were led tov>'ard a forest, the Lieutenant kept repeating with oaths to the soldier who had shot 
him, " I'll hang you on the first tree ; you're nothing but a bushwhacker, anyhow." At 
last his prisoner replied, never dreaming that he was heroic, "Well, I suppose you will hang 
me. When I joined the army I took all the chances, and I felt that it was worth all I could 
give to save my country, and all I've got to say is, if yon do hang me, I shall try to die like a 
man ! " With a resounding oath the Confederate replied, " If that's the kind of man you are, 
I'll not hang you ! " and the man was saved. 

ENUCRA^XE. 
Our soldiers were not alone brave, they were enduring and persistent. Fighting was by 
no means their only business. With this were connected hea\'y marches, cold, rain, snow, 
and terrible exposures, sickness and discouragements harder tc endure than even the deadly 
struggle of the battlefield. 

" Comrades of camp and mess. 
Left as they lay to die 
In the battle's sorest stress, 
When the storm of fight went by ; 
They lay in the wilderness— 
Ah, where did they not lie? 



In the tangled swamp they lay, 
They lay so still on the sward ; 
They rolled in the sick-bay, 
Moaning their lives away, 
They flushed in the fevered ward." 

Amid all the vicissitudes of a soldier's life, their hearts were strengthened by the thoughts 
of those they had left at home ; and they were cared for as no other army ever was before. 
To say nothing of individual effort, the Sanitary and Christian Commissions were always per- 
forming acts of tenderness and mercy. What a procession was that, so eloquently described by 
Mrs. Mary Livermore, when on the appointed day for the bringing in of gifts for the first 
Sanitary Fair in Chicago, there filed past hundreds of vehicles, driven by old men, women, 
boys and girls, loaded with provisions, fruits, vegetables and all manner of comforts for the 
soldiers, carrying flags and banners bearing such inscriptions as these : " This for our father," 
" This for our sons," " In memory of our brothers," and others of like significance. That single 
fair netted nearly a million dollars, and those in other cities were equally successful, especially 
those held in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Who can write the story of our hospitals ? 
A surgeon, while going on his rounds, chanced to remark to his attendant, in hearing of the 
patients, that he had " ether enough for only one more operation." The next surgical case 
required the amputation of a leg. The poor fellow looked up in the doctor's face and said, " Did 
you say that you had only ether enough for one more case ? then give it Jim ; he needs it more 
than I." " Jim " had been terribly mangled by a shell. Such acts of unselfishness, which 
were countless, rival and even surpass the generous deed performed by the chivalrous Sir 
Philip Sidney on the field of Zutphen. It was by dogged persistency that the salvation of the 
great cause was achieved. General Grant well expressed it in his two famous sayings, when 
at Vicksburg he replied to the question in regard to terms of surrender, " I propose to march 
immediately upon your works," and in the Wilderness, he wrote to President Lincoln, '' We 
shall fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." 

MAGNANIMITY. 

Magnanimity, that high soldierly quality, was exhibited by our soldiers. The world 
always admires it. Captain Phillip fought his ship magnificently in the battle of Santiago, 
but we love better to associate his name with the tender words which he addressed to his crew 
in the hour of triumph : " Boys, don't cheer ; the poor devils are dying." 

No two Northern men are more admired or highly esteemed in the South than President 
Lincoln and General Grant — the former because he had convinced them that he was good, 
just and merciful, the latter because of his generous magnanimity at Appomattox. Hard 
fighter as he was, for which they admired him, they honored the sentiment that dictated that 
they should keep their horses to put in their crops, that oflEicers should retain their side 
arms, and that the soldiers of the Union army should refrain from exhibitions of rejoicing 
over their defeated foe. 

Learning of the destitute condition of General Lee's army, he issued an order for the dis- 
tribution of thirty thousand rations to the hungry men. The ink upon the paper ordering 
the surrender of the army was scarcely dry, before groups of men, so lately enemies, could be 
seen everywhere in friendly conversation, and interchanging acts of courtesy and kindness. 
Foreign critics had declared that both armies would be hard to deal with after peace was 
declared, but our soldiers hastened to return to their quiet industries, with nothing to distin- 



giiisli them, as Mr. Greeley wrote, " except the proud consciousness of having served and saved 
their country." There were no iniprisoninents, no execution.s, as in the civil wars of other 
countries, but the spirit of forgiveness was evident everywhere, and the soldiers of each .sec- 
tion parted with mutual respect and heightened confidence. 

A SUPREME TEST OF AMERICAN MANHOOD. 

The soldierly qualities which have been mentioned — devotion to duty, courage, endurance 
and magnanimity — were conspicuously displayed during that most momentous battle of the Civil 
War fouglit at Gettysburg on the ist, 2d and 3d of July, 1863. Many of the soldiers from 
this locality belonged to regiments that participated in that protracted fight, especially the 
64th and 154th Infantry and the 9th Cavalry. The last named claims the distinction of 
having fired the first gun, lost the first man and captured the first prisoner in that gory 
struggle. If some one should write a supplement to Creasy's " Fifteen Decisive Battles of the 
World," he would unquestionably add Gettysburg to the list. Many circumstances combined 
to make it memorable. 

Our foreign relations had reached a critical stage. England and France stood ready to 
recognize the Confederacy so soon as the South should win a conspicuous victory on northern 
soil. The Southern army had been reorganized and equipped, and eye witnesses declare that, 
as it marched through Hagerstown, Mar>-land, the men looked as if " they felt they could con- 
quer the world." They were fresh from the victories of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. 
The two contending armies were composed of seasoned veterans, well matched as to numbers, 
each containing about eighty-five thousand men, ably led, and the rank and file performed 
such prodigies of valor, that whether we look upon one army or the other, we are proud that 
they were all American citizens. Neither the time nor the place of the battle was predeter- 
mined by either commander. 

The battle was opened by General Buford, the great ca\'alry leader, at a place northwest of 
the town, along Willougby Run. He was soon joined by Reynolds' First Corps, and some- 
what later by Howard's Eleventh ; but they shortly had to face nearly the whole Confederate 
array, which was rapidly concentrating by the numerous roads which, like the spokes of a 
wagon wheel, converge toward the town. The Union troops were overwhelmed by numbers, 
and after a gallant resistance, were forced to fall back on Cemetery Ridge, leaving many 
prisoners in the hands of the enemy. Thus closed the first day. The second followed with 
many bloody struggles which finally resulted in driving in Sickles' Third Corps from the 
V-shaped ridge which he had chosen in preference to the row of low elevations which stretched 
south from Cemetery Hill. At fifteen minutes to four o'clock, one of those strange incidents 
occurred which compel us to believe that there was in this battle an unseen factor which the 
Comte de Paris, in his account of the conflict, terms "The Providential element." 

Several times, during the fateful three days' fight, it seemed that the merest turning of a 
hand might have changed the final result. What, for instance, would have been the effect if 
Stuart's Cavalry had been present with the Confederate army at Chambersburg ? or if Lee had 
pressed his victorious columns upon Cemetery Hill at the close of the first day's fight ? He 
had yet two hours of daylight in which to pursue, and could have ov-erwhelmed our shattered 
columns. Was it an accident that the sun shone bright over the woods of Plum Run at a 
quarter of four in the afternoon of July 2d ? At tliat time. General Warren, Chief of the Sig- 
nal Corps, visited Little Round Top, which at the time was used simply as a signal station. 
The merest novice who visits this famous battlefield, will see that whoever occupied this 



rocky eminence would hold the key ia the battle, for, from this point, the whole Union line 
could have been enfiladed. On a huge boulder on the very top of this eminence stands a 
superb statue of General Warren, who, field glasses in hand, is represented as looking west- 
ward, at the moment when he made the discovery of the enemy's rapid approach in an 
attempt to capture this point. The story is graphically told by the Comte de Paris. 

" The officers of the Signal Corps stationed on the top, having informed Warren that 
they thought they had seen the enemy's lines in the woods between Plum Run and the Em- 
metsburg road, he thereupon ordered Smith's battery to fire a shot in that direction. Just as 
the projectile passed whistling above the trees, all the Confederate soldiers instinctively raised 
their heads, and this simultaneous movement being communicated to the polished arms held 
in their hands, Warren caught the reflection, like a streak of lightning, winding with a long 
trail among the leaves. This momentar}- apparition was a revelation to him ; he divined the 
danger which menaced Little Round Top, and understood, by the same token, the importance 
of this position," and he hastened to find troops to defend it, who came up just in time to 
secure the place. The loss of life in its defense v/as terrible. Among our distinguished dead 
were Colonel Strong Vincent and Colonel O'Rorke. 

The whole world is familiar with the details of the third day's fight. How Pickett, in 
the afternoon, made his charge on Seminary Ridge, a charge which for splendid courage and 
dash stands almost unrivalled in history. But his heroic, mighty columns were rolled back, 
crushed and defeated by the invincible ranks of the men of the North. 

The Civil War had reached its " high water mark " and was to become thenceforth a 
refluent tide. It is pathetic to hear L,ee, as he looks upon his shattered troops, borne back 
and defeated, "take upon himself the whole responsibility of the disaster," although military 
critics do not entirely agree with him. 

Gettysburg was a superb test of American manhood ! The long battle was so splendidly 
fought by the troops on both sides that every American heart may well glow with exultation 
and pride. 

CONCLUSION. 

The ranks of our veterans are rapidly growing thin. Most of our great commanders, in- 
cluding Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Hooker, Meade, Thomas, Hancock, and others, have 
passed away. Some of them died comparatively young, but all of them will always live in the 
affections of those who followed them to battle, and in the annals of their country. 

Of the volunteers who v,fent from this section of the State, many have died. Some lie in 
the National cemeteries, some fill unknown graves, others sleep in the quiet of village grave- 
yards ; but wherever they rest, we, to-day, dedicate to their sacred memory this granite shaft. 
Not alone to them, but also to those veterans vvho still are with us, for it is erected 

"in honor of our country's defenders." 

This monument will also, eloquently, though silently, impress upon each generation that 
looks upon it, the high responsibilities of citizenship in a free, representative government, 
whether in time of peace or of war. So long as this beautiful memorial shall stand it will 
perform its lofty mi.ssion 

TO inspire patriotism, 

to teach self sacrifice, 

TO inculcate loyalty. 




MONUMENT IN HONOR OF THE 64th N. Y. 

AT GETTYSBURG. 



INFANTRY, 



Kamlolph and vicinity furnished soldiers to more than a dozen different regiments and batteries, bnt a 
majority nf them were in the fxith. 154th and the Mth Cavalry. For that reason these pictures of monuments 
erected in honor of those regiments at (Gettysburg have been inserted here. 




MONUMENT IN HONOR OF THE 154th N. Y. INFANTRY. 

AT GETTYSBURG. 



NAMES OF SOLDIERS BURIED IN MAPLE GROVE CEMETERY, 

RANDOLPH, NEW YORK. 



Seth Berray 

Adam V. Dockstader 
Otis Hitchcock 
Joel Scudder 

C hnrlcs H. Latham. 



SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Ezekiel Scudder. 

WAR OF 1812. 

John Gould 

Hewitt (first name unknown; 

Asaph Sheldon. 

FLORIDA WAR. 
CIVIL WAR. 



Charles A. Benson, Co. E, 1 1 2th N. Y. V. 
Charles Berment, Co. F, 84th N. Y. V. 
Joseph Bloomfield, record not known. 
Freeman Booth, Co. K, 2d Minn. Cavalry. 
Charles Bohall, 112th N. Y. V. 
B. G. easier, Capt. Co. A, 154th N. Y. V. 
Gurdon W. Coit, Co. K, 2d N. Y. V. Mounted 

Rifles. 
O. B. Cravens, Co. D, 83d Pa. V. and Co. K, 

165th Pa. V. 
Lyman Dean, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Elmore Draper, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
T. A. C. Everett, Capt. Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Horace H. French, Sergt. Co. F, 64th N. Y. V. 
Thomas J. Hitchcock, Co. D, 5th Mich. V. 
H. Lysander Jones, Capt. Co. B, 64th, N. Y. V. 



Arthur Hotchkiss, Co. K, 202d N. Y. 



SPANISH 

V. 



William Kelsey, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Nathan Keech, Co. E, 154th N. Y. V. 
Hiram Litchfield, Co. B, 72d N. Y. V. 
Albert Marsh, Sergt. Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
John Mason, marine. 
Lemuel Owen, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Charles Risedorph, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Ambrose S. Scudder, Co. H, 154th N. Y. V. 
Cyril Seekins, Co. H, 154th N. Y. V. 
Oscar N. Sheldon, Co. A, 169th N. Y. V. 
Joel Torrance, Co. H, 154th N. Y. V. 
J. Z. Wanamaker, Co. I, 17th N. Y. V. 
Lathrop Weeden, Co. G, 9th N. Y. Cav. 
D. T. Wiggins, Lieut. Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Eben Willard, Co. B, 64th N. Y. V. 
Martin Yeloy, Co. H, 154th N. Y. V. 
Fr 2^-.-\ Klin ^■2kz'v^.S01£\ 

WAR. J 



BURIED ON SAMPLE HILL, RANDOLPH, NEW YORK. 

Lyman Wright, War of 181 2. James Daniels, Co. C, 13th Heavy Artillerj'. 

Isaiah Cross, 154th N. Y. V. Alexander Gake, 154th N. Y. V. 



COVER THEM OVER WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. 



ELIZABETH PALMER MATTHEWS. 

Thin grow the ranks. A few worn, weary men, 
With the white spray of age upon each brow, 
Come in sad memory of those far-off days 
When they marched gaily where they falter now. 

A few are left. How short has grown the list ! 
We call it tenderly with bated breath, 
Lest from our ranks should fade the noble band 
To answer to the roll-call of the ruler. Death. 

Few, few are left. The ranks grow thin and wide 

Apart as the dim armies of the past. 

Silent and slow they come who once 

Their conquering forces on the foremost cast. 

Only a few, with weak and faltering tread. 
And for a little while their march they keep 
O'er the rough ways of poverty and age, 
To bivouac-grounds of rest, so green and deep. 

Thin grow the ranks. In silent camps they wait, 
Who shared those hours of victory or defeat ; 
And marble sentries guard the sacred spot 
Where war worn heroes rest in slumber sweet. 

So few are left ! Where are those gallant ones 
Who led the conquering bands to victory ? 
Who, out of darkness brought the light of peace. 
And set a race of suffering people free? 

So few, but, ah ! the golden-fruited years 
Have scattered memory blossoms on their way; 
And a glad nation comes with thankful heart 
To tell its love each Decoration Day ! 



D. T. WIGGINS POST, G. A. R., NO. 297, RANDOLPH, N. Y. 



LIST OF COMRADES IN GOOD STANDING, SEPTEMBER 1ST, I905. 

Frank Boyingtou, Private, Co. D, 179111 Regt., N. Y. Vols. 

Harmon Hotchkiss, Private, Co. E, 9tli N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Hiram Keith, Private, Co. H, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

W. B. Hughes, Private, Co. F, ist Bt. Pa. Vols. 

Wm. H. Buck, Private, Co. A, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

Hollis Marsh, Private, Co. E, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Albert G. Dow, Jr., Adjutant, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Charles W. Terry, Private, Co. K, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Isaac Brown, Private, Co. E, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Charles F. Brown, Private, Co. C, 13th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. 

Samuel Bryant, Private, Co. H, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

Florentine C. Mighells, Private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Harvey D. Litchfield, Private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Garrett S. Myers, Private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

M. Johnson Crowley, First Lieut, and Quartermaster, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Rodney R. Crowley, Captain, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Darwin M. Graves, Private, Co. A, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

Charles W. Mount, Private, Co. E, 11 2th N. Y. Vols. 

Orra Snow, Private, Co. E, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

James G. Johnson, First Lieutenant, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Gilbert F. Gould, Private, Co. G, 13th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. 

Tenny L. Walsh, Private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

Edwin Stone, Private, Co. E, 13th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. 

John McLaughlin, Private, Co. F, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

William Latham, Private, Co. E, 164th N. Y. Vols. 

Rufus Deland, Private, Co. E, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Daniel Carr, Private, Co. I, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Alson Thurston, Private, Co. I, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Levi E. Morey, Private, Co. K, 9th N. Y. Cav. Vols. 

Worden B. Wait, Second Lieutenant, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

George W. Haskins, Private, Co. A, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

Alonzo Merritt, Private, Co. K, ist N. Y. Vet. Cav. 



John B. Nichols, Private, Co. C, 17th N. Y. Vols. 

William R. Shannon, Private, Co. H, 71st N. Y. Vols. 

James Williams, Private, Co. A, 11 2th N. Y. Vols. 

Melvin Roberts, Private, Co. D, nth Mich. Vols. 

Joseph Price, Private, Co. A, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

James T. Edwards, First Lieutenant, Co. K, nth R. I. Vols. 

William L. Eggleston, Private, Co. F, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

S. Z. Fisher, Private, Co. G, 78th N. Y. Vols. 

Dallas Foy, Private, Co. A, 13th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. 

A. B. Price, Private, Co. A, 154th N. Y. Vols. 

Henry H. Hamilton, Private, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 

L. D. Heminger, Private, Co. C, ii2th N. Y. Vols. 

Owel H. Willard, Captain, Co. B, 64th N. Y. Vols. 






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MONUMENT IN HONOR OF THE 9th N. Y. CAVALRY, 

AT GETTYSBURG. 



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